MotoGP Jerez Test: Bagnaia puts Ducati back on top, Honda steals headlines

Pecco’s
1:36.872
saw
him
beat
Takaaki
Nakagami
(LCR
Honda
Idemitsu)
to
the
overall
top
by
four
tenths,
with
newly-crowned
2021
MotoGP
world
champion
Fabio
Quartararo
(Monster
Energy
Yamaha
MotoGP)
third.

But
the
timesheets
were
far
from
the
whole
story..

2022
MotoGP
Jerez
test:
Nakagami
puts
Honda
on
top
on
Day
1

Straight
out
of
the
blocks
on
Friday,
riding
a
2022
prototype
–
meaning
the
newer
engine,
front
fairing,
air
intake
and
more
–
Bagnaia
went
just
0.3s
shy
of
Maverick
Viñales’ all-time
Jerez
lap
record.
A
statement
of
intent?
It
certainly
looked
like
it.

And
it
was
a
sure
sign
that
the
Bologna
factory
have
gone
into
2022
winter
testing
carrying
the
momentum
they
ended
the
season
with.

With
regards
to
the
engine,
a
big
talking
point
across
all
factories
for
the
Jerez
Test
and
beyond,
Ducati
won’t
be
deciding
their
spec
until
the
Mandalika
Test
in
February.

As
well
as
the
front
fairing
and
air
intake,
the
next
biggest
difference
seen
on
the
factory
Ducatis
has
been
the
new,
much
long
exhaust.
Both
Pecco
and
teammate
Jack
Miller
(Ducati
Lenovo
Team)
were
using
it
on
Day
1
and
Day
2,
it
will
be
interesting
to
see
whether
it
makes
an
appearance
at
the
Sepang
and
Mandalika
Tests
next
year.

That’s
a
wrap
on
the
first
glimpse
of
next
season.
The
MotoGP
riders
won’t
be
on
track
again
until
2022,
as
a
much-needed
winter
break
lies
ahead
for
the
paddock.

Ducati
will
arguably
head
into
the
break
as
the
happiest
manufacturer,
but
it’s
very
early
days.
2022
is
set
to
be
bigger
and
better
than
ever,
we
can’t
wait
to
see
what
each
factory
rolls
out
of
the
box
at
the
Sepang
Test
in
February
2022.

Top
10
combined:
1.
Francesco
Bagnaia
(Ducati
Lenovo
Team)
–
1:36.872
2.
Takaaki
Nakagami
(LCR
Honda
Idemitsu)
+
0.441
3.
Fabio
Quartararo
(Monster
Energy
Yamaha
MotoGP)
+
0.452
4.
Johann
Zarco
(Pramac
Racing)
+
0.484
5.
Enea
Bastianini
(Team
Gresini
Racing
MotoGP)
+
0.530
6.
Alex
Rins
(Team
Suzuki
Ecstar)
+
0.551
7.
Pol
Espargaro
(Repsol
Honda
Team)
+
0.624
8.
Maverick
Viñales
(Aprilia
Racing)
+
0.750
9.
Joan
Mir
(Team
Suzuki
Ecstar)
+
0.762
10.
Jack
Miller
(Ducati
Lenovo
Team)
+
0.845